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Western Water Catchment
The Western Water Catchment ( ; ; ) is a planning area located in the West Region of Singapore. The planning area borders Tuas and Pioneer to its south, Sungei Kadut, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah to its east, Jurong West to its southeast, Lim Chu Kang to its north and the Straits of Johor to its west. The area currently houses four reservoirs, Tengeh Reservoir, Poyan Reservoir, Murai Reservoir and Sarimbun Reservoir. The Western Water Catchment is also a live-firing area in which it is used by the Singapore Armed Forces for training purposes. It is also a restricted area in which it is out of bounds to all members in the public except for military personnel from Pasir Laba Camp (South) and Sungei Gedong Camp (North). The SAFTI Live Firing Area commenced operations in 1968 and was revamped in 2008, the eastern part began operations in 2002 and has been extended to Lim Chu Kang Tracks 11 and 13, but it has been remained unnamed, and it could be named 'Murai North'. In the Draft Master Plan 2019, plans call for the new "Coastal Road" from Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim to Lim Chu Kang Lane 6, replacing Lim Chu Kang Road. The Lim Chu Kang Road between Neo Tiew Road and Old Choa Chu Kang Road will be removed and given for the expanded Tengah Airbase. Districts There are 15 districts in Western Water Catchment. *Bahtera *Lorong Danau *Murai *Murai North *Nanyang Bridge *Nanyang Crescent *Nanyang Gateway *Pasir Laba *Peng Kang Hill *Poyan *SAFTI City *Sarimbun *Sungei Gedong *Thousand Oaks *Wrexham Education There is only one university in the Western Water Catchment which is Nanyang Technological University and National Institute of Education. History The SAFTI Live Firing Area was drawn out in 1967 and marked all around there are 504 warning signs in the vicinity (these indicate "Danger Live Firing Area-KEEP CLEAR"). Before the drawing-up and gazetting of the live-firing zone, most residents and occupants living within the affected boundaries were shifted to Boon Lay as its pioneer residents and factories there were relocated to the Jurong Industrial Area, leaving only a few villages behind (all were gone by the early 1990s). On 14 July 1968, four villagers died and nine others were injured in the live-firing area (near Kampong Berih, one of many rural villages in the area) and seven other villagers snuck into Pasir Laba (on the coastline of the Johor Straits) by sampans to pick durians and rambutans from the many fruit trees in the forest there. These villagers were injured by mortar rounds in their attempt to collect fruits. There are many cases of trespassers in the live firing area. Numerous military sentries are posted at 11 entrance points at Pasir Laba Camp to keep out trespassers. In addition, all other roads leading into the area, such as those in the rural Lim Chu Kang area, are gated and show warning signs, preventing unauthorised vehicles from entering. In September 2008, Training Resource Management Centre (TRMC) officers have standardised the live-firing area signs in all four official languages of Singapore (namely English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil) with an image of a soldier pointing a rifle at a trespasser, but in the later part of 2014, TRMC added "Do Not Go Beyond This Line Without Authorisation - Live Firing in Progress" on the sign. Keeping out trespassers into the live-firing area have been discussed in Pasir Laba Camp's annual general meetings. In 2017, the signs were changed to "Do Not Go Beyond This Point. Live Firing Area - KEEP CLEAR!" by Training Resource Management Centre, and the previously-used warning image was altered to show the widely-recognised skull-and-crossbones deadly-hazard symbol. These new signboards can be widely found near NTU's western edges, Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Jalan Murai and Lim Chu Kang Road. However, these measures are only partially effective, and there are still many who enter the restricted military-training grounds, especially for the purpose of picking wild fruits such as durians. Pasir Laba Camp Pasir Laba Bridge is an under construction railway bridge, in order to connect Tanjung Kupang and Wrexham area. Reservoirs As of 2017, there are three reservoirs. Poyan Reservoir Poyan Reservoir (Chinese: 波扬蓄水池) was previously part of a river Sungei Poyan and its delta, which was dammed to become a reservoir. Sungei Poyan emptied into the Straits of Johor. West of Poyan area is called "Poyan West". There is also a new Poyan Court, which is also an entertainment hub, opened in 25 November 2010 similar to Nex, and have Shaw Theatres. It is now part of SAFTI Live Firing Area (South), which has restricted access. There are two restricted access gates at the end of Old Choa Chu Kang Road for connection to either end of Poyan Reservoir, as the road is quite narrow (is only accessible to pedestrians and all military vehicles), together with the Lorong Danau (between Chua Chu Kang Camp and Jalan Sungei Poyan). The future training outfield, SAFTI City (formerly Poyan Court) will also be located there. Getting there Jalan Sungei Poyan is a road, mostly when it come out from Choa Chu Kang Road dead end, that leads into some army camp or somewhere. It leads into the live-firing area, of which it is at Poyan Reservoir. Only 3-tonners and 5-tonners can go in. This road had even steep cliffs. Only the public maps can show their limited area, of which it is not possible to go to Pasir Laba Road. As such, these roads are unpaved, and you can't get out of the place, if there is no 3-tonners and 5-tonners. Of course, there are private hire buses in order to go in. Lorong Danau is a road that connects from Nanyang Avenue all the way to Jalan Sungei Poyan. Its speed is 35km/h and sometimes it goes via the 201 Squadron. There is a dirt track which is very north of 201 Squadron and could be at the live-firing area. Murai Reservoir Murai Reservoir ( ) is one of the four reservoirs in the Western Water Catchment of Singapore. It was formerly Sungei Murai, which was dammed in early 1980s, to create a reservoir. Sarimbun Reservoir Sarimbun Reservoir (Chinese: 莎琳汶蓄水池) is one of the four reservoirs in the Western Water Catchment of Singapore. The reservoir was constructed by damming Sungei Sarimbun and widening of Sungei Karang, Sungei Hantu, and Sungei Sarimbun. It is now part of SAFTI Live Firing Area in the north, which has restricted access and only accessible through the TRMC Operations Room. The public can cut through from Bahtera Track to enter Sarimbun Reservoir area. Sarimbun was where General Tomoyuki Yamashita landed his troops during World War II, and was engaged in the Battle of Sarimbun Beach. Sarimbun is also home to many small vegetable and fruit farms and health farms. These farms are normally owned by local entrepreneurs. Sarimbun also hosts multiple permanent campsites, especially on Jalan Bahtera. These campsites include the Singapore Scout Association's Sarimbun Campsite, Girl Guides Singapore's Camp Christine, and Ministry of Education's Jalan Bahtera Adventure Centre. Etymology Sarimbun is a Malay place name, and existed probably since the early nineteenth century. The [[Jackson Plan|Franklin and Jackson's Plan of Singapore]] (1830) refers to Sungei Sarimbun, or Sarimbun River in Malay, as "Serimhone". Rimbun means "luxuriant", "in great quantity" or "thick". Pulau Sarimbun Pulau Sarimbun (previously also spelled Pulau Serimbun or Pulau Srimbun) is a small island situated in the Straits of Johor, off the north-western coast of Singapore. Many boaters have went to these area, and it is located at the enclave of the live firing area. There is no access to Sarimbun Reservoir as you have to go to the TRMC Operations Room to go in. Located within Singapore waters, it has an area of 1.4 hectare. Pulau Sarimbun is within the SAFTI Live Firing Area as shown in the map. Category:Reservoirs in Singapore